Wire package



cs. ZECCHIN WIRE PACKAGE "Jan. 27,1970

Filed Aug. 19. 1968 FIG. I

INVENTOR sumo ZECCHIN 4 4% r ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,491,876WIRE PACKAGE Guido Zecchin, Winsted, Conn., assignor to Hudson WireCompany, Ossining, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 19, 1968,Ser. No. 753,375 Int. Cl. B65d 85/04 US. Cl. 20659 ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A wire package comprising a reel having a barrel in the shapeof a conical frustum, with a flange at either end, the flange at thesmaller end of the conical frustum being of a lesser diameter than theflange at the larger end, the reel being placed in a cardboard containerwhich is square in cross-section and of a height substantially equal tothe height or axial dimension of the conical frustum. By utilizing acontainer which is square in crosssection, it is possible to utilize amuch less expensive container than has been used in the past, since thecontainer is more readily fashioned and in addition, may be shipped tothe point of use in the flat condition, thereby materially reducing theshipping expense of the empty container. Furthermore, handholds are soarranged in the container that they cooperate with a wire tensioning anddispensing device to hold that device in position on the openedcontainer during pay-oh of the wire from the reel within the container.

In the past, wire packages of the general type disclosed herein havebeen made, utilizing a round card board or fiberboard container, or infact a container of other material, which was provided with an outercylindrical surface which extended to a point spaced downwardly from theedge of the open container, providing a shoulder on which the de-packingor dispensing mechanism rested. As can be seen, a container of this typeis relatively difficult to manufacture and correspondingly expensive,requiring this internal shoulder as well as a top which is separatelyfabricated. By my present invention, it is possible to utilize a muchless expensive cardboard container which is formed in the usual mannerfrom a box blank provided with end flaps which can be shipped to thewire producer in a flat condition and erected before filling, thussaving expense both in shipment and in the requirements for storagespace for the unused containers. At the same time, due to the use of acontainer whose minimum dimension is slightly smaller than the diameterof the supporting cylinder for the dispensing device, the handholdswhich are normally formed in the container for convenience in handlingare also utilized to form edges on which the cylinder of the dispensingdevice seats after the container end flaps are opened, thereby properlylocating the dispensing device with respect to the reel of wire in thecontainer, this without in any way increasing the cost of the package.

In a preferred form of the invention, the container is provided with awindow formed as a flap, scored on one side of its generally rectangularshape and cut along the other three sides, so that the window will beclosed during shipment, but may be opened by the user of the package topermit visual checking of the amount of wire remaining on the reel.

The invention disclosed in this application is an improvement upon thewire package disclosed in Hirst Patent No. 3,000,493, issued Sept. 19,1961, the package, however, having additional features with respect toease of handling as well as ease of shipment of the knockdown outercontainer, and reduction of expense due to the possibility of shippingthe container in this knock- 4 Claims 3,491,876 Patented Jan. 27, 1970down form and of more readily constructing the square container than theold round container.

It will be appreciated that the improved wire package of this inventionhas all of the advantages set forth in the I Iirst patent aboveidentified, including the ability to utillze the wire from the packageWhether the de-spooling is by mounting the reel on an arbor or bymaintaining the reel stationary and taking the wire off over the smallerupper reel flange; the placing of much greater quantities of wire on areel than are possible when wire is placed on the reel in loose coilswithin a pail or container; and the provision of a package whichprevents displacement and tangling of the wire since the conical coreutilized minimizes slipping of the wire and thus minimizes tangling asthe result either of shipping or removing wire from the reel. All ofthese advantages are discussed at some length in the Hirst patentabove-referred to.

It is thus a feature of the invention to provide a wire package of whichthe outer container is a box which is square in crosssection and whichis provided with cut and scored handhold elements, which elementslikewise serve to position the wire de-packer, or wire tensioning unit,when the wire is being taken from the package.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent whenthe following description is considered with the annexed drawing inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view showing the outer container andthe reel which fits therein;

FIG. 2 is a view of the wire reel assembly in the box, with the boxflaps open and a de-packer unit installed in position; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view on the plane of the line 33 of FIG. 2,showing the mode by which the landhold edges are utilized as supportsfor the de-packing ev1ce.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, it will beseen that my improved wire package comprises a reel generally designated10 having a large lower flange 11, a smaller upper flange 12, and a core13 of frustoconical shape on which the wire 14 is wound in substantiallyeven layers so that the wire package when full is likewise in afrustoconical form.

The box 15 is square, having its sides substantially equal to thediameter of the lower flange 11 of reel 10, whereby the reel isdefinitely located and retained in the box and does not shift itsposition within the box during shipment, at which time of course theupper flaps 16 are folder into closed position and sealed in anysuitable manner as by the use of gummed tape, staples, or the like. Itwill of course be understood that the box 15 is shipped to the user in aflat condition and is erected either manually or by customary boxerection machinery to the form in which it is shown in FIG. 1, at whichtime it is ready to receive the reel 10 with the wire 14 thereon.

The box 15 is provided with customary cutouts 17 which form handholdsfor use during shipment and use, these handholds being formed in theusual manner by cutting along the line 18 and scoring along the line20-. The box 15 is also provided with a window flap 21 which is cutalong the lines 22 and scored along the line 23 so that the flap may beopened downwardly to provide an opening through which the wire on thereel 10 may be observed so that the operator can estimate the remainingamount of wire as the wire is being drawn off in a manner shortly to bedescribed.

Although as has been indicated, the reel 10 may be removed from the box15 and mounted on an arbor to be drawn from the reel by a coil windingmachine or other suitable machinery, the package is also intended to beuseful to supply wire to a coil winding machine, with the wire taken offover the small end flange 12. For this purpose a wire dispensing orde-packing device such as that shown in FIG. 2 is utilized, the packageof the instant invention being particularly useful in connection withsuch a device.

The Wire dispensing device of FIG. 2 comprises a hollow cylinder 30having a diametrically extending crosspiece 31 with an opening centrallythereof which is hushed with a bushing 32. Extending upwardly from thecrosspiece 31 is a bracket 39 on which is pivotally mounted an arm 33which at its end carries a roller 34 mounted on a stub shaft 35 forrotation thereabout.

An arm 36 is also mounted on shaft 35, this arm having at its outer enda spring-pressed clamp 37 having' felt pads indicated at 38 thereon. Asimilar clamp 40 with felt pads 41 is mounted on the bracket 39.

The cylinder 30 has a slightly greater diameter than the diameter of theinscribed circle of the box 15; thus when the de-packer cylinder 13 isinserted in the box as shown in FIG. 2, it forces the upper portion ofthe box sides into a curved formation seen particularly in FIG. 3, thusexposing the lower edges of the handhold cutouts 18 so that the loweredge of the cylinder. 30 rests on the handhold ledges, therebydefinitely positioning the depacker unit with respect to the box and thereel therein.

As will "be obvious from FIG. 2, the end of the wire, which is normallyshipped taped to the upper reel flange, can be removed and fed throughthe bushing 32, thence between the felt pads of the spring-pressed clamp40, over the roller 34 (which is preferably formed of nylon), thencethrough the felt pads of the spring-pressed clamp or tensioning device37 and to the point of utilization. The arm 33 is pivotally mounted, asstated, on the bracket 39 and thus the position of the roller may beadjusted to assure that the wire passes properly through the bushing 32.In like manner, the position of arm 36 may be adjusted by movement aboutthe shaft 35 so that the clamp 37 is properly positioned in the path ofthe Wire from the roller to the point of utilization.

As is readily seen from the above description, the wire packagecomprising the tapered spool with its large and small flanges and thebox which is square in cross-section and adapted to receive thecylindrical wire dispensing device, form a very compact and convenientpackaging unit having all of the advantages of the Hirst patentheretofore mentioned and being at the same time much cheaper to produceand preferable for shipment purposes in that a plurality of packages ofmy improved type are readily stacked On a pallet, taking up no morespace than does the round container of the prior construction, butassuring that the containers Will not shift about and making it possibleto stack the containers on their sides rather than on their ends,without danger that they will roll or otherwise become displaced duringshipment.

It will of course be understood that variations may be made, such forexample as the omission of the window 21 or change in shape of thehandholds 17, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A wire shipping and storage package adapted to the dispensing of wireat high speeds therefrom, comprising a box square in cross-section,having side walls, a normally closed bottom end and top end flapsadapted to be closed during shipping and storage and open during wiredispensing, a wire reel comprising a frustoconical core having flangesat either end thereof, one of said flanges having a diametersubstantially equal to the interior length of a side of said square box,the other flange being smaller than said one flange, a body of wireclosely wound on said core in a plurality of layers generally parallelto the surface of said core so that said body is of substantiallyuniform thickness throughout the length of said core, said box having aninternal height substantially equal to the distance between the outersurfaces of said reel flanges to thereby maintain said reel in fixedposition in said box during shipping and handling, with a generallyannular gap between said box walls and said smaller reel flange, ahandhold centrally located on each of said box walls, said handholdcomprising a flap hinged at one edge of said handhold, the other edge ofsaid handhold forming a ledge adapted to support a wire dispensing unitcomprising a cylinder of slightly greater diameter than the interiorlength of a side wall of the box which serves to bulge the box sidewalls and adjacent top end flaps to thereby seat at its lower edge onthe handhold ledges of the side walls of the box.

2. A wire shipping and storage package as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid box is made from a single blank having sides each of which has aflap at each end, said flaps being folded inwardly to form the completebox.

3. A wire shipping and storage package as claimed in claim 1 wherein awindow flap is provided through which the wire on said reel may beobserved.

4. A wire shipping and storage package as claimed in claim 3 whereinsaid window flap is generally rectangular, one side of said rectanglebeing common with the lower edge of one of said handhold flaps and theside opposite said one side being connected to the box side by a scoreline.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 768,664 8/1904 Johnson 2298722,663,491 12/1953 Hill et al 22952 3,001,642 9/ 1961 Hirst 206--5 23,283,887 11/1966 Rosen 20652 3,331,550 7/1967 Krzyzanowski 229933,384,223 5/ 1968 Manizza 299--39 WILLIAM T. DIXSON, IR., PrimaryExaminer US. Cl. X.R. 22952

